Keywords
micro-scenarios
urbanometrics
decomposition
cubic livability regime
How to Cite
Abstract
Starting from the notion of cities as complex multiscalar organisms, this paper develops an urbanometric-configurational approach to modelling pluriform livable urban spaces. It uses micro-scenarios, shaped by human-based preference mappings of neighbourhood livability, as analytical cornerstones for quantitative urban planning. The place-based wellbeing of residents is measured through an urban happiness (‘Smiley’) indicator (also coined ‘city love’ or ‘neighbourhood love’), which is a representation of the spatial appreciation of urban areas by residents. Next, the paper designs neighbourhood micro-scenarios as reference images for expressing space-specific preferences. The quantitative analysis is next tested for the case of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The paper introduces an urban happiness cube using three perception-based micro-scenarios: Community Oasis, Vibrant Hub, and Eco-Urban Haven. These axes are used to classify Rotterdam neighbourhoods into cubic livability regimes. The neighbourhood Smiley Index then serves as an external validation measure. The quantitative results show that Rotterdam’s neighbourhoods are not arranged along a single livability gradient. Instead, they form distinct configurations. Community-led regimes show the highest average Smiley Index, while vibrancy-led regimes show the lowest. Spatial maps and transition matrices further indicate that these regimes are geographically differentiated and temporally dynamic. The paper contributes to urbanometrics by shifting attention from conventional explanatory models to spatially dependent configurational pathways of livable urban places.
Funding
Karima Kourtit and Peter Nijkamp acknowledge support from the HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01 Programme for the WISER project, under grant agreement No. 101094546.
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